The IAESTE Experience 2014
Panorama
Quinoa: A New Crop to Dry-land Agriculture
Mind Over Matter
1260 Science Students Graduate in First Phase
News Update
Dangers of
Smokeless Tobacco
Department of Public
Relations and Information
Sultan Qaboos University
Issue 299
View Point
Retooling for the Future
Mohamed Salem Al Ghailani
Editorial Supervision
Santhosh Muthalath
Senior Editor
Sara Al Gheilani
Nasebah Al Muharrami
Translation
Ahlam Al Wahaibi
Design & Layout
Photography Dept., CET
Photography
Salim Al Sudairi
Circulation
SQU-info
Products of information technology revolution such as smartphones,
iPads, and the rest influence how students perceive the world, relate to
their professors, absorb and use information, and evaluate success. There
are people who voice concerns that the prevalence of information has negated the inclination to learn it. They believe that if students can pull up
knowledge instantly via their personal technology, they have less incentive to retain that knowledge. They already possess it on their phones;
they don’t need to know it. However, learning as much general knowledge as possible is still beneficial for any student to participate fully in
career and society. It’s just as important to know how to participate given
these fantastic new electronic tools. A student still has to learn the ‘base
information’ to learn other concepts, including those that drive technology. One has to understand what lies behind the technology.
Our libraries have reorganized to become more electronic-driven than
paper-based repositories of information. At the same time the classroom
should achieve more interaction between teacher and students. In certain
fields, personal technology can be used creatively and effectively in the
teaching and learning process. Depending on the course, technology can
help the student become proficient in analyzing and synthesizing information in the time it once took a professor to dispense it. In broader terms,
technology will help to redefine the campus of future. In classrooms, laboratories and libraries, students will have a greater role in driving the curriculum, filtering knowledge and course requirements through technology and interacting with their counterparts in other nations, in real time,
via smart classroom innovations. Traditional examination formats will
rely less on regurgitation of knowledge, and more on regeneration of it.
The future employers will expect a high degree of creative problem-solving skills, those students who can refine, reinvent, or redirect ways of using conventional information and knowledge-based skills will garner the
most exciting entry-level positions. This will mean that traditional academic department structures will also need to be redefined. Interdepartmental course offerings, collaboration on global study-abroad and other
initiatives and the pairing of once-separate disciplines will form a new
academic model. Majority of employers look for candidates who demonstrate capacity to think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complex
problems, regardless of their undergraduate major.
@SQU-info
Horizon invites contributions from SQU members of staff and faculty. Contributions in the form of
articles, news, travelogues, stories of unique and interesting experiences, encounters, etc., are welcome. Contributions may be edited for the sake of clarity and length. Please send your contributions
to horizon@squ.edu.om preferably, as MSWord attachments. Authors will be suitably credited.
The views and opinions expressed in the articles published in this newsletter are those of the authors
and are not to be construed as the official views of the publication. Horizon is published three times a
month by the Department of Public Relations and Information, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 50,
P.C. 123, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
Phone: +968 24141045
E-mail: horizon@squ.edu.om
20 November 2014 P2
Fax: +968 24413 391
Website: www.squ.edu.om
News Update
1260 Science Students Graduate in First Phase
Sultan Qaboos University, celebrated the first phase of its 25th graduation
ceremony on Sunday, 16 November, under the patronage of H.E. Dr. Mohammed Al Zubair bin Ali, Adviser for Economic Planning Affairs to His
Majesty the Sultan. A total of 1260 students from the colleges of Medicine
& Health Sciences, Nursing, Agricultural & Marine Sciences, Engineering, and Science, received their certificates from the patron of the ceremony. The graduating students represent the 6th batch of doctoral graduates,
19th batch of masters graduates and 25th batch of bachelor’s graduates.
Speaking on the occasion, H.E. Dr. Ali bin Saud Al Bimani, the Vice Chancellor of Sultan Qaboos University, said that the university is graduating
2519 students from different colleges this year. “In today’s ceremony, 451
students from the College of Science, 74 from the College of Nursing, 123
from the College of Medicine & Health Sciences, 440 from the College of
Engineering and 172 students from the College of Agricultural & Marine
Sciences, are awarded degree certificates”, he said. The Vice Chancellor
congratulated the graduating students and hoped that they would contribute significantly to the progress of the country. “Based on its academic
and research components, the field of education is responsible for solving
problems that face the world. SQU seeks to obtain a leading position in
the region and the world at large by seeking excellence in its academic
and research pursuits. The university is keen to pursue academic accreditation for all its programs by reputed international organizations in this
field”, he said.
Listing the achievements of the university in terms of accreditation, the
Vice Chancellor pointed out that all the undergraduate programs of the
college of Engineering are accredited for the second consecutive term by
the US based ABET Inc. “The Department of Chemistry of the College of
Science recently received academic accreditation from Canadian Society
for Chemistry. The Geology and Geophysics programs at College of Science received accreditation from the British Geological Society. The basic
MD program offered by the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, has
been accredited by the Association for Medical Education in the Eastern
Mediterranean Region (AMEEMR) in association with the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME). The College of Medicine and Health
Sciences got the best medical college in the Arab World Award instituted
by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences.
SQU Hospital has secured the Golden level of Health Care Institutions recognition conferred by the Accreditation Canada International”, he said. Dr. Al
Bimani also mentioned some of the recent outstanding achievements of the
university’s students in extracurricular activities and scientific innovation.
“It gives us more delight as the graduation ceremony of SQU coincides with
the 44th National Day of the our beloved country”, he said.
Maimoona bint Mohammed Al Balushi, a student from the College of Agricultural & Marine Sciences, gave a speech on behalf of the graduating students in which she thanked the university for all the services and support
they received during the years of their study at the university. She promised
that the graduates will make best use of their knowledge, skills and capabilities in serving the nation. At the ceremony, Hooria Hamed Al Akzami,
student from the College of Engineering recited the poem written by Fahd
bin Yousef Al Aghbari, student from the College of Law. In the second phase
of the graduation ceremony, to be held on 23rd November, student from the
humanities colleges and the College of Economics & Political Science, will
receive their degrees.
College of Medicine Wins Hamdan Medical Award
The College of Medicine & Health Sciences at Sultan Qaboos University, has
been selected as the best medical college/institute in the Arab World by the
UAE based Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid
Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences, this year. SQU College of Medicine shares this award with Mongi Ben
Hamida National Institute of Neurology,
Tunisia. This was announced by Dr. Ali
Rashid Al Nuaimi, the Director of the
UAE University and a member of the
Board of Trustees of Sheikh Hamdan Bin
Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical
Sciences, and Prof. Najib Al Khaja, the
Secretary General of the Award, at press
conference held recently in Dubai UAE. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid
Al Maktoum Award is given for different categories in medical sciences with a total monetary value of AED 2.8 million.
Prof. Najib Al Khaja noted that the winners will be honored during the
Awards ceremony that is to be held on 15th December in Rashid Hall at
the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre in the pres-
ence of the Award Patron, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al
Maktoum, the Deputy Ruler of Dubai and the UAE Minister of Finance.
In conjunction with the Awards ceremony, the Award will organize the
8th Dubai International Conference for Medical Sciences from 15th to
17th December in Al Bustan Rotana Hotel in Dubai. The conference will
discuss the main topics of the Award in its current term concerning drug
discovery, targeted therapy, cell therapy and vaccines with the participation of the winners of Grand Hamdan International Award, Hamdan
Award for Medical Research Excellence and Hamdan Award for Volunteers in Humanitarian Medical Services for the first time in the history
of the Conference.
Commenting on this achievement, Prof. Omar Al-Rawas, Dean of the
College of Medicine & Health Sciences at SQU, said that the award reflects the academic status of the college and the professional capabilities
of its graduates. “The college was able to get the award because of the
high standard of its academic curriculum in preparing medical graduates, educational approach, capabilities and efficiencies of the academic
staff, and effective learning and teaching methods followed by the college. The award recognizes the continuous growth of the research output
and research capabilities of the college and its services to the community
in addition to its use of latest technologies for teaching and learning”,the
Dean said.
P3
20 November 2014
Insight
Dangers
of Smokeless Tobacco
A study carried out at the College of Science, SQU indicates that
Afzal, a smokeless tobacco product illegally sold in Oman contains heavy metals that may cause health problems. The findings
of this research was published in SQU Medical Journal (August
2014-Vol. 14, No.3).
A study conducted by researchers from the Department of Biology at Sultan Qaboos University has found that Afzal, an illegally
sold smokeless tobacco product (STP) commonly used by youths
and teenagers in Oman, contains a number of heavy metals that
may cause health problems. The findings of this study underscores
the need for urgent regulations at national level to control the illegal sale of this tobacco product and public health education and
awareness campaigns on the health risks associated with the use
of Afzal. This study was conducted by Mrs. Nawal Al Mukhaini, a
PhD Student, who is supervised by Prof. Taher Ba- Omar, Drs. Elsadig Eltayeb and Aisha Al Shehi, from the Department of Biology
at the College of Science.
The authors said that smokeless tobacco products have started to
gain popularity in Oman, especially among young people, because
of its cheap price and easy availability as well as the lack of awareness about its harmful effects. “Afzal is considered to be a snuff
tobacco or a type of moist STP, and illegally sold in Oman despite
been prohibited by law. Afzal is used by applying a pinch of the
product between the lips and the upper or lower gums. Users suck
the juice of the product for varying periods of time, often up to 30
minutes, and subsequently spit out the rest.
The findings of this study confirmed the presence of several heavy
metals such as chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni) and lead
(Pb) in a randomly selected blend of Afzal. Some of these heavy
metals are carcinogenic. The results showed levels of chromium
and cadmium in Afzal above international limits, while the concentrations of nickel and lead were lower than the maximum permissible limits. The estimated daily intake of the tested metals exceeded
the allowable safe limits recommended by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO),
rendering users at high risk of being poisoned or developing other
undesirable side effects. The frequent use of this brand of STP allows the accumulation of no degradable and dangerous elements
in the user’s body. Excluding other potential sources of daily heavy
metal intake such as from the environmental and dietary sources,
20 November 2014 P4
frequent use of Afzal may put users at risk of exposure to combined metals.
Heavy metals have potential toxic and carcinogenic effects and
some of them can cause severe health problems, even in trace
amounts. Cadmium is very toxic to bones, the nervous system and
kidney and can cause cataract in the eye. Lead is known to induce
renal tumors and increase blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, the brain is one of the organs most
affected by this metal. Lead exposure has been found to be correlated with reduced cognitive development, decreased IQ levels
and poor learning outcomes in children. Nickel along with most of
the metals mentioned above, can cause inflammatory responses, in
most cases this results in allergic contact dermatitis inflammations.
Nickel also causes oral allergic contact sensitization.
Considering these aspects, the researchers recommend that the sale
of illegal STPs such as Afzal need urgent regulation in Oman. “It is
equally important that education programs aimed at Omani youth
need to be implemented to raise awareness of the health risks and
dangers of using this product”, they said.
Smokeless Tobacco Products
Smokeless tobacco causes significant health risks. It contains the
same addictive chemical (nicotine) that is in cigarettes, which can
lead to addiction and dependence. The amount of nicotine absorbed from smokeless tobacco is 3 to 4 times the amount delivered
by a cigarette.
Key facts about smokeless tobacco Use: Smokeless tobacco contains 28 cancer-causing agents (carcinogens) or known causes of
human cancer. It also increases the risk of developing cancer of the
oral cavity and pancreas. Snuff is finely ground tobacco that can be
dry, moist, or in bag-like pouches. Most smokeless tobacco users
place the product in the cheek or between their gum and cheek,
suck on the tobacco and spit out or swallow the juices, which is
why smokeless tobacco is often referred to as spit tobacco. However, several tobacco companies have started to develop and test
market new smokeless tobacco products such as snus, a product
that does not require the user to spit and tobacco products that dissolve when put into the mouth.
(Ref: American Lung Association)
Mind Over Matter
Quinoa: A New Crop to
Dry-land Agriculture
Dr. Mumtaz Khan
Department of Crop Sciences
College of Agriculture and Marine Sciences
civilizations; nevertheless its cultivation was substituted with other cereal crops on the arrival of the Spanish. It is an old crop known to Andean people and with
the passage of time series of genotypes was carefully
chosen in relation to hostile biotic and abiotic stress
tolerance.
At present domesticated Quinoa ecotypes have diverse
characters which makes it a peculiar crop to be used
for different purposes e.g. for making soaps, toasting,
grains, flour, and high nutritional enhancement. Quinoa is known for its high protein content compared to
other plant foods while it carries little lower protein
compared to most legume crops.
Quinoa also has a favorable balance between its essential amino acid contents compared to other plant foods.
It has been proven that quinoa is a good source of energy and dietary fiber, and has significant amounts of
minerals such as iron/zinc and antioxidants too. The
high nutritional substances of Quinoa grains have been
acknowledged by the indigenous Andean people naming it as the ‘‘golden grain’’ of the Andes.
It has shown wide range of adaptability to climate
and can be grown from -4C0 to 35C0 or even at higher
temperatures. Some Quinoa varieties can be grown
successfully under extreme drought and salinity conditions. The diversity of this plant brands it a climate
smart crop. It generally takes 160-180 days from sowing to reach harvest maturity.
The geographic distribution of world Quinoa production is focused to Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador, extending
from 5° north latitude to 43° south latitude. The ability
of different varieties of Quinoa to be grown at different altitudes and climate zones are which gives Quinoa
great potential to improve food security globally. Experimental assessments have been started to explore
the Quinoa cultivation in Africa, Asia, Europe, and
North America. It is worth mentioning that its cultivation has been successfully achieved in the United
States, Morocco, Kenya, and India. It is expected that
worldwide Quinoa production will be taken up on
large scale production as a commercial crop in coming
years.
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) belongs to goosefoot
family (Chenopodiaceae), this family contains large
number of plant species. Many of these species growth
habits are annual, perennial (herbs or sub-shrubs) and
little grow like shrubs, climbers or trees. Numerous
species of this family carry commercial significance for
example, spinach and beetroots are largely consumed
as vegetable, quinoa is known as pseudo-cereal, and
some have medicinal and ornamental value while several others have shown industrial worth for making
soda ash indirectly.
Quinoa is a one of the important members of domesticated species of goosefoot family. It was originated in
Andean countries of Peru and Bolivia. Traditionally, it
was cultivated as a principal food by pre-Columbian
Recognizing the importance and acknowledging the
contribution of indigenous peoples of the Andes, who
maintained, controlled, protected and preserved quinoa as food for present and coming generations, the
United Nations has affirmed year 2013 as “International Year of Quinoa” (IYQ). Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) is encouraging and making available all their technical support to member countries
in promoting Quinoa cultivation and ensuring world
food security through such new crop initiatives.
We at the Department of Crop Sciences, CAMS, Sultan
Qaboos University (SQU) have been working on procuring seed material from the sister organizations and
planned to initiate its field trial in Fall 2014. The initial
plan is to screen the range of Quinoa biotypes on the
basis of their field trial performance and later to conduct certain precise experiments to assess the selected
plant material against drought/salinity tolerance and
crop productivity/quality factors.
We comprehend that this could be a new crop to Omani agriculture which would need sufficient time to
come up with recommendations whether it can be an
alternate commercial crop to Omani agriculture or not.
P5
20 November 2014
News Round Up
SQU’s Date Research
Bags Award
A research paper on detecting surface cracks on dates using color imaging technique, has qualified five researchers from SQU to win the
National Research Award (environmental and biological resources category) for the year 2014, instituted by the Research Council (TRC). The
researchers are: Ms. Sawsana Al Rahbi, a PhD student in the Department of Soils, Water & Agricultural Engineering (SWAE), Dr. Manickavasagan Annamalai, Assistant Professor, SWAE, Dr. Rashid Al Yahyai,
Associate Professor, Crop Sciences Department, Dr. Pulathisi Mahinda
Alahakoon, Postdoctoral Fellow, SWAE, and Dr. Lazhar khriji, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. The
paper titled “Detecting Surface Cracks on Dates Using Color Imaging
Technique” produced by Sawsana Al Rahbi and fellow researchers,
was based on the outcomes of a TRC funded research “Development
of Computer Vision Technology for Quality Assessment of Dates in
Oman”, led by Dr. Manickavasagan Annamalai.
The research explores the potential of using computer vision (CV) technology as an alternative method for visual inspection method of quality assessment. In CV method, various cameras are used to take images
of the products and characterize their qualities (internal and external).
This method is being used for various quality measurements with acceptable accuracy in developed countries. “In spite of higher production of dates in Oman, the average annual export is only 2.5 to 3.5% of
the total production. Quality-composition and packaging have always
been a problem for Omani dates to compete in the international market”, the researchers said.
Dr. Manickavsagan said that manual grading is generally followed in
date factories in Oman. Visual inspection or manual grading has many
constraints such as subjectivity (personal perception), influence of mental stress, influence of environment (lightings), efficiency of individuals
at various times of the shift etc. “In many developed countries, food
sector is one of the top ten industries using CV technology. In our work
we determined the efficiency of a CV system with RGB color camera in
determining the surface quality (surface crack) of dates. Surface crack
is a type of defect which depreciates date quality. In the current manual
inspection, there is no standard method to estimate the extent of spread
of these cracks on dates, or their percentage cover. Hence, there is a
necessity to develop an objective method to estimate the amount of
cracks present on a date fruit, which could be used as a detection tool
in handling, processing and packaging facilities”, he said.
As a part of the project, three grades or classes of ‘Khalas’ variety dates
(high-crack, low-crack and no-crack) were obtained from two commercial date processing factories in Oman. Color camera, florescent lights
and data acquisition system were the main components of the developed imaging system. A color image was acquired for each date sample and analyzed in Matlab software to extract the features to describe
and detect cracks on dates. The statistical models were used to classify
dates according to the presence of cracks, and the accuracy was up to
96%. The researchers said that there are lots of opportunities to develop
CV techniques to determine various internal and surface qualities of
dates using RGB and other cameras. “With the help of today’s advancement in electronics, it is very much possible, to identify and remove the
off-quality dates from the production line automatically. This kind of
automatic quality monitoring and control techniques will assure the
export of high-quality dates from Oman. In addition, the algorithm
can be modified to be used in the quality detection on other fruits or
vegetables”, they said.
20 November 2014 P6
Medical, Nursing
Graduates Take Oath
The 24th batch of medical graduates from the College of Medicine &
Health Sciences, and the 8th batch of nursing graduates from the College of Nursing at Sultan Qaboos University had their oath taking ceremony recently under the patronage of H.E. Dr. Ali bin Saud Al Bimani,
the Vice Chancellor. As many as 104 medical graduates and 74 nursing
graduates took the oath.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Dr. Omar Al Rawas, Dean of the College of Medicine & Health Sciences congratulated the medial students on successfully completing their studies and called upon them
to perform their duties with honesty and dedication. He stressed on
the quality of medical education at SQU highlighting the accreditation of the MD program by World Federal of Medical Education, and
the college winning several international awards, the latest being the
best medical school in the region by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al
Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences. In her speech, Dr. Isra Al Khasawneh, Dean of the College of Nursing, congratulated the nursing
graduates and called upon to perform their duties with compassion
and dedication, and to continue building knowledge and honing skills
as nursing educator or practitioner to achieve their goals. Dr. Muna Al
Sadoon, and Mr. Nasser Al Salmi administered the oath to the medical
and the nursing graduates respectively.
SQU Honors Employees
Sultan Qaboos University honored the 90 employees and one retired
staff member who completed 20 years of service at the university. The
function was held under the patronage of Prof. Amer Ali Al Rawas,
Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies and Research, at the
faculty club annexe.
Dr. Hamad bin Sulaiman Al Salmi, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Administrative and Financial Affairs, delivered a speech of gratitude and appreciation to the Staff for serving SQU during these years, in addition
to their contributions that led to the progress of the institution. The
employees expressed their gratitude for this honor, emphasizing that
this would push them to make more efforts in serving the university.
This honoring ceremony of staff and retired staff is held annually, to
honor the employees for their contributions during the years of service.
Panorama
The IAESTE Experience 2014
The International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical
Experience (IAESTE) is a global organization promoting intercultural exchange between students. It provides students with opportunities to train
abroad and employers with highly skilled, highly motivated trainees for
projects. IAESTE Oman is one of the 80 members of the global IAESTE
family, formed in 2001 with a vision of connecting companies, universities and students in Oman to foster cross-border collaboration in R&D and
increase mobility of engineers. With commitment, dedication and hard
work, IAESTE Oman has achieved a staggering growth rate in the number
of exchange students catered to annually. As a result, an escalating interest
has been observed in local and international companies based in Oman
to serve as active participants fuelling the growth of youth in the technical sector. IAESTE Oman has been operating under complete sponsorship
from the SQU since its establishment. SQU has helped IAESTE Oman be
an active member of the IAESTE internationally by providing the students
of the College of Engineering with best opportunities for an international
training.
Dr. Issa Hamdoon Al-Harthy, Assistant Dean for Training and Community Services, said that the successful of this international program has
obtained by the a strong help from our local partners that offers a training opportunities to international students for a period of 4-8 weeks every
summer semester. “SQU has helped IAESTE Oman be an active member
of the IAESTE internationally by providing the students of the College of
Engineering with best opportunities for an international training. On behalf SQU, I would like to express our appreciation and thanks to all companies and organizations for inviting international students to their office
for short training period”, he said.
Exchange coordinator, Moadh Al-Zadjali, said: “2014 was another excellent year for IAESTE Oman. The office fully supported and sponsored all
the outgoing students. We were able to exchange with larger number of
countries this year with a higher number of students participating, both
males and females. Like every year, a very active social and fully sponsored program was executed for the incoming international students. The
program included trips to main cities, major cultural and historic sites, as
well as favorite tourist destinations. The international students in Oman
also visited Salalah for a 4 day tour to explore unbelievably lush region
that is fringed by the mountains which in summer changes into an emerald
green land”.
The IAESTE Experience 2014
Siham Mohammed Jasnak (Student from SQU who went to Germany): “It
would be an understatement to say that my IAESTE training in Berlin was
an outstanding academic and technical learning experience. This training
went far beyond that and gave me the unparalleled opportunity to be exposed to so many new ideas, cultures and viewpoints that tremendously
broadened my world view and inculcated in me the constant desire to
learn and apply the knowledge gained to aid our growth. The training
allowed me to interact and exchange ideas with students from all over
the world, allowing me to work as a global citizen thinking beyond the
borders of countries.
Ghosin Al-Shukaili (to United Kingdom): “I express my gratitude to
IAESTE Oman for giving me an opportunity to improve my skills in data
analysis and specialized software in Mechanical Engineering. I must say
the IAESTE program gave me the opportunity of lifetime. In addition to
the technical knowledge, I learned a lot about the culture in UK by visiting
various historical places. It was the best experience of my life!”
Foreign Students in Oman
Nada Shuaib (from United States of America): “My summer training with
the IAESTE organization was a great experience that engaged me with the
authentic Omani culture. I was part of the Omani Heritage Villages’ Preservation project, supervised by the Ministry of Heritage. I was exposed
to a wide range of native cultures across the regions of Oman. From my
experience I can confidently say that Omani citizens are one of the most
helpful, humble and generous people. I will definitely want to come back
to Oman soon.”
Samantha Miler(from Brazil): “I couldn’t be more thankful for everything
I’ve learned in Oman. It was the trip of a lifetime with valuable practical
experience in my field of expertise. Being a trainee at PDO, I excelled as a
petroleum engineer from their highly sophisticated training programs. I
worked with an amazing team that selflessly helped me acquire knowledge to deal with the practical issues in the fields. Most importantly, the
time that I spent with friends from IAESTE Oman travelling around Oman
and getting to know the country better was fascinating. They made us feel
like family and visiting the beaches, wadis, deserts, tourist places and sites
with them was unforgettable! I can only thank God for having such a great
opportunity and I hope that someday I will be back, Inshallah”.
Future of IAESTE Oman
Upon achieving its intended milestones, IAESTE Oman, collaboratively
with student volunteers, is now broadening its vision to strengthen existing relations with countries which participated in 2014 and to build ties
with numerous other countries thus encouraging higher number of exchanges in the coming years.
“IAESTE Oman is further encouraging students with the help of its alumni
to strive to present Oman, with its rapidly growing industry, as one of the
top ranking destinations for an international standard technical training
and cultural experience. In turn, we are aiming to create more opportunities for the Omani youth to benefit from IAESTE program. Having an
exceptional higher education level and top class facilities, Omani students
are highly skilled and capable of competing at the international level,
thus exhibiting Oman on the global platform as one of the leaders in innovation.” said student coordinators at the IAESTE Oman Office, Ahsen
Mubarik Ali and Siham Jasnak.
P7
20 November 2014
Straight Talk
Dr. Kaveh Madani
Dr. Kaveh Madani is an Environmental Management
Lecturer in the Centre for Environmental Policy at the
Imperial College London. Before joining the Imperial
College London, he was an Alex Alexander Fellow and
an assistant professor of civil, environmental and construction engineering at the University of Central Florida, where he founded the Hydro-Environmental and
Energy Systems Analysis (HEESA) group. His work
includes application of systems engineering, conflict
resolution, system dynamics, economics, optimization
methods to water, environmental, and energy resource
problems at different scales to derive policy and management insights. He is the Founder of WaterSISWEB
and has been recently selected as one of the ten “New
Faces of Civil Engineering” in 2012 by the American
Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Dr. Kaveh Madani gave talk on “Water Crisis in Iran: Lessons to Be
Learned by Oman” at the College of Agricultural and
Marine Sciences at SQU.
Horizon: What is the ideal strategy for water
management in your view?
Effective water management relies
on a holistic understanding of all elements of water
system and its dynamic relations with other systems.
Normally, what leads to water crisis is disintegrated
management Instead of having coordinated strategies for management and development, governments
try to develop separate strategies for different sectors,
like energy, agriculture, transportation, and so on.
Under this condition, even good intentions can lead
to sever outcomes, when the effects of disconnected
plans are combined.
Dr. Madani:
Oman has some major water-related challenges
such as climate change, sea level rise, food security,
groundwater overdraft and saltwater intrusion that
can have major consequences if timely actions are not
taken. I wanted to emphasize in my talk, that development does not necessarily mean replicating all that
have been done in developed countries. Common
practices in this part of the world, like constructing
bigger and taller buildings, dams, and other infrastructure may not necessarily mean development as
they can have major consequences as have been observed in the West and in your neighbor, Iran. What
caused serious environmental damages in these places was not a lack of expertise or financial resources,
but a thirst for rushed and uncoordinated development in different sectors. Sustainable development is
not a dream, but can be unachievable in absence of
vision and comprehensive understanding of humannatural systems.
Horizon:
SQU?
What is the purpose of your visit to
Dr. Madani: I am an international collaborator
on a TRC funded research project at SQU led by Dr.
Slim Zekri in the Natural Resources Economics Department. This project, which is perhaps the first one
in its own kind in the world, is focused on sustainable groundwater management in Oman. Seawater
intrusion due to aggressive groundwater withdrawal
has created serious challenges for the agricultural
sector in Oman. The 30 percent excess withdrawal
in the study areas is equal to declining groundwater
table and increasing salinity. So, some crops cannot
be grown anymore and the situation continues to get
worse and worse if there is no action.
Horizon: Can you explain about your presentation on
water crisis which you delivered at SQU?
The presentation provided an overview
of the current state of water resources in Iran. Iran is experiencing a critical situation due to mismanagement of water
resources under aggressive development, and serious actions are required to minimizing the ongoing and upcoming losses. The presentation highlighted the major lessons
to be learned by Oman, which can go in the same direction.
Oman can avoid the experienced issues in Iran through holistic understanding of the current problems, recognizing
the trade-offs between economic development and environmental sustainability, coordination among stakeholders, and bottom-up approaches which involve ‘people’ in
water management.
Dr. Madani:
This interdisciplinary project tries to understand
practical methods for reducing groundwater consumption, increasing productivity at the farm level,
and decreasing the cost of energy supply for the government. This is a practice-oriented method which
brings engineering, natural sciences, economics and
social sciences together to first understand how decisions are made at the farm level and then suggest
solutions that help securing sustainable groundwater
resources and increase the economic gains of the individual farmers and the government in the long-run.
The project is unique in that it has all the essential
elements of applied research that affects well-being of
Omanis immediately. The project benefits from industry partnership, but most of the technological components such as sensors, mobile apps, and the integration software have been developed and produced by
local researchers. This is very promising and suggests
that the locals can solve this problem in house. They
just need to come together and have concerns over
the long-term costs of the current groundwater management practices, which can be detrimental to the
health of ecosystem, water resources, agriculture, and
the economy of the country.